Islamabad (Health Desk): Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal has said that the country’s rapidly growing population is becoming a major challenge for the healthcare system, putting continuous pressure on the health sector.
Addressing a conference on health and nutrition, he said that people need to adopt a healthy lifestyle, while the government is working to strengthen the primary healthcare system so that priority can be given to disease prevention.
He said that Pakistan’s current healthcare system is mostly limited to treatment of diseases, whereas there is now a need to promote a prevention-based healthcare system instead of focusing only on treatment. According to him, building hospitals and hiring medical staff alone is not enough; reforms in the entire system are essential.
The Federal Minister further said that the global pandemic made it clear that even strong healthcare systems cannot withstand pressure at all times, and no country can continuously bear the burden of large-scale diseases.
Mustafa Kamal stated that the Ministry of Health has developed a new strategy with the help of international experts aimed at reducing patient burden on hospitals and keeping the public healthy. He added that issues such as clean water, medicines, and lack of medical facilities also need attention to improve the health sector in the country.